Watee-wheel



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

P. H. ROOTS, OF OONNERSVILLE, INDIANA.

WATER-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 27,239, dated February 2l, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, P. I-I. RooTs, of Connersvi'lle, in the county of Fayette and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Vater-Theelsg and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partof this specifica tion, in which- Figure l, is a horizontal section of my improved water wheel in the line Y, Y', of Fig. 2. Fig. 2, is a Vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3, is a similar section as Fig. Q, but the parts are in a different position. Fig. 4L, is a front end View of the same.

Similar letters of reference, in each of the several figures indicate corresponding parts.

To enable others, skilled in the art, to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, is the water wheel hung on a shaft B: Tangential buckets or pistons C, project out from the cylindrical part of the wheel and stand just the reverse of one another, as shown in the drawings.

D, is the rotary abutment hung horizontally on a shaft E, and parallel and close to the wheel A, and geared with the wheel by means of the gearing a, I), on the ends of the res ective shafts B, E, so as to revolve simu taneously with it in the direction indicated by the arrows, and so that its periphery and that of the wheel shall revolve at equal speeds with one another. The abutment D, has two recesses f, 7", in its periphery. These recesses are of a form approximating to a scroll and serve to receive the buckets or pistons in a novel and advantageous manner; allowing the water to pass freely around the piston or buckets as the piston or buckets enter them, without any danger of waste or any loss of power from the resistance of the water in the recesses, and also allowing a free egress of the water, which thus enters with the pistons, with little resistance or friction.

F, is the casing of concave form which covers that side of the wheel where the water passes to the buckets. This casing is situated far enough from the wheel to just allow the ends of the pistons or buckets to clear it, as the wheel revolves. The ends of the cas ing have journal boxes formed on them to receive the shafts of the abutment and wheel, as represented in the drawing.

G, is a broad fiat induction pipe attached to the casing F, through which the water passes to the wheel A. This pipe and the casing are of the same width, and both it and the casing are divided by a partition m, n, which extends from the front entrance of the pipe to the rear bottom edge of the casing, as shown in the drawing, a groove, s, being cut circumferentially in each of the buckets of the wheel to admit said partition and to allow of the wheel revolving without hindrance from it. The partition m, n, divides the surface of the wheel, the casing and the induction pipe, into sections, one section being twice as large as the other and both furnished with cut olf or regulating valves or gates, o, p, and thus enables me to expose one third, two thirds or the whole of the surface of the wheel to the water, as the necessity of the case may require.

As a modification of my invention, I propose to make recesses and .pistons or buckets alternately in each cylinder, as shown at Fig. 5; that is to say two pistons and two recesses on each. By this arrangement, a double action may be secured.

The operation of the wheel is as follows: The water enters the induction pipe G, and not being able to pass between the rotary abutment D, and cylinder A presses upon the piston or bucket O, Fig. 3, and thereby causes the wheel to revolve. As the piston C', comes around and enters the recess f, the lip m of the abutment is the only bearing point, and it follows closely on the short curved side of the piston or bucket and thereby prevents any waste of water notwithstanding the recess at this stage is full of water. As the piston passes around further, the lip follows and consequently the water in the recess is discharged into the concave of the casing without having, at any time, acted as a dead friction to the piston, this result being due to the scroll shape of the recesses, for if they were made in the circular form described by the ends of the pistons or buckets as they pass through them,

the water would be so confined and have so small anaperture to escape through that the effective force of the wheel would be diminished to a considerable extent. The same combination by suitably reducing the induction pipe and making it the eduction pipe, strength in combination With the cylinders 1o and applying power to the cylinder A and A, D, so as to prevent the retardation of the reversing the motion, may be used as :L ropiston by the Water as the pistons enter and tary blower or rotary pump for forcing air, leave the recesses, substantially as and for E Water or other fluids. the purposes set forth.

What I claim as my invention and desire P. H. ROOTS. to secure by Letters Patent, is- Witnesses:

The recesses f, and the pistons C, of de- I. D. WALKER, scribed configuration so as to insure requisite C. B. EDWARDS. 

